I don't usually have large amounts of money to invest at a time but I do have money I can set aside each month. After doing some reading at www.fool.com I think DRIPs might be right for me, since I'm looking for more longterm goals (5-10 years).

Anyone have any experience with DRIPs or able to offer any advice?

 

I used DRIPS through www.buyandhold.com - if you take a look at their fee structure, it's the most economical. the problem is that you can't buy some stocks that Wantone et al. sometimes discuss on that let's make money thread

I would recommend buyandhold.com from personal experience.

 

I likewise buy DRIPs, but through Equiserve.com. the transaction costs are very low, and I'm quite happy with the service.

hey minster, what's that $6.99/mo fee thing all about?? that's not my cup of tea. I don't trade often enough to justify that pricing structure.

you might also want to check out Equiserve. I buy the stocks directly from the companies (with Equiserve as the holding company). the transaction costs are fixed and very, very cheap. no monthly recurring fees. and you can have your dividends automatically reinvested (see each company prospectus for details).

go to Equiserve.com, click on Shareholder Services, then click on Buy Stock Direct (on the L side) to see for which companies they offer direct stock-purchase/DRIP plans.

 

i think equiserv is a bit different from buyandhold.com, if you take a look at what they're offering, it's not exactly DRIP oriented like equiserv. i liked buyandhold.com because you have a wider selection - SIRI for example, is not listed on equiserv whereas most stocks save for the OTC stuff are available on buyandhold.com, it would seem. i didn't play with equiserv's site very long, but they do look a bit more limited than buyandhold.com

$6.99 gives you 2 trades/month, which is what i typically need, so you're looking at $3.50/trade (buy or sell), and after that it's $2.99/trade, i believe. i have mine set up automatically so i don't touch it often.

 

Thanks for the info.